The Welsh Government says it plans to invest £5.6m to build a new factory for Invertek Drives to enable the company to expand its operations in Welshpool and create up to 50 new jobs.

The company designs and makes Variable Frequency Drives, used to control motors in a wide variety of industrial and energy saving applications and exports around 90% of its output to Europe, US, Australia and the Middle East.

The Welsh Government plans to build a new 56,500 sq ft detached unit on Offa’s Dyke Business Park next to Invertek Drives’ main production facility and headquarters.

Credit: Welsh Government

Invertek Drives, an independently owned company established in 1998, employs 190 people worldwide, including more than 170 at its Welshpool headquarters and has doubled its turnover to £23 million in the last five years.

It has ambitions for a 50% increase in turnover by 2018 when thirty new jobs will have been created, rising to 50 when production ramps upto full capacity.

Police in Welshpool are appealing for information as they search for a teenage girl who has been missing since Friday.

Sophie Townsend was last seen on Friday night. Credit: Dyfed Powys Police

17-year-old Sophie Townsend was last seen at around 10pm on Friday night near the Morrisons supermarket in the town.

She is described as 5ft 4/5ft 5 inches tall with short brown hair. It's believed Sophie is wearing black jeans with slashes across the front, a black t shirt, a black waterproof jacker and black trainers with lime green writing and laces.

Anyone with any information about her whereabouts is urged to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101.